The athletic department of the Russellville School District (RSD) announced Friday that Russellville High School will compete in wrestling as a club sport beginning in January. The RHS Wrestling Club will be operating at no expense to the RSD.

"This has been part of a big push by Phil Hatcher to get wrestling in Arkansas," RSD Athletic Director Jim Dickerson said. "Arkansas and Mississippi are the only states that don't have high school wrestling."

A $9,000 wrestling mat was provided by the Arkansas Wrestling Association to the first 20 schools to have teams in Arkansas. Donations are being accepted to purchase head gear and wrestling uniforms.

Harold Taylor and Terry Davis will serve as volunteer coaches for the wrestling club. Both have been very active in the River Valley Boys and Girls Club wrestling program for several years. Russellville MIddle School coach and RHS teacher, Phillip Goodwin will serve as sponsor. At this time, there are 18 young men signed up in the wrestling club. Coaches are looking for athletes in the lower weight classes.

Matches have tentatively been scheduled for Jan. 6 and 15. A complete schedule will be finalized after the first of the year.

"Harold (Taylor) and Terry (Davis) are in charge of getting matches scheduled," Dickerson said. "We are hoping that Russellville can host a few matches and allow the schools from the 7A West and 7A Central to meet and cut down on travel expenses. The number of meets scheduled for this year depends on the funding and how much money the wrestling club can spend on travel."

A total of 18 other high schools in Arkansas have started wrestling programs. Fayetteville, Springdale, Har-Ber, Bentonville and Little Rock Central are some of the other 7A schools who will be offering wrestling.

"This is only preliminary work. We got a late start to putting together our program," Dickerson said. "We think this will be very successful. Our soccer and swimming programs started out as club activities."

While the Arkansas Activities Association does not currently recognize wrestling as a sport, Dickerson says it will be a big day when they do.

"Today is a big day for us in getting this program off the ground," Dickerson said. "The big day will be the day the AAA recognizes it as a sanctioned sport and we can bring it in to our athletic program."

For more information on the wrestling program, contact Dickerson at (479) 890-6356. Anyone interested in wrestling, or anyone willing to help support the wrestling program, can contact Dickerson, Taylor, Davis or Goodwin.